To: Board of Supervisors
From: John Kopchik, Director, Conservation and Development
Report Title: Hookston Remediation Work Authorizations with ERM
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
RATIFY the execution of four work authorizations, dated November 6, 2023, April 10, 2024, September 4, 2024, and October 1, 2024, all of which identify work ERM-West, Inc. (ERM) is performing under an existing Consulting Services Agreement dated as of December 14, 2021 (CSA), between ERM on the one hand, and Mary Lou Helix, Karen Hook, Debbie Hook and Blake Pucell (Hookston Group), Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR), and the County on the other, in accordance with Order No. R2-2023-0015, adopted September 29, 2023, issued by the Regional Water Quality Control Board in connection with the remediation of an approximately 8-acre site located at the intersection of Hookston Road and Bancroft Road in Pleasant Hill (Hookston Site).
AUTHORIZE the Conservation and Development Director, or his designee, to execute future work authorizations that are part of the CSA and consistent with the Order.
CORRECT the Staff Report dated December 14, 2021, which approved and authorized the CSA, to (i) delete the statement that the CSA has a payment limit, and (ii) reflect that the termination date of the CSA is the date the environmental and remediation work to be performed by ERM at the Hookston Site is complete, unless the CSA is terminated sooner.
FISCAL IMPACT:
In accordance with the Settlement Agreement (defined below), the costs incurred under the CSA are borne 50% by UPRR, 25% by the Hookston Group, and 25% by the County. The County portion has been designated as an enforceable obligation of the former redevelopment agency and is paid using Successor Agency funds.
BACKGROUND:
The County, the Hookston Group and UPRR (together, the Hookston Parties) are parties to a settlement agreement that was entered into in 1997 to resolve a civil suit involving allegations of contamination of the soil, subsoil, surface water and groundwater on and emanating from the Hookston Site (Settlement Agreement). Under the Settlement Agreement, the Hookston Parties agreed to settle the civil action. In addition, under the Settlement Agreement the Hookston Parties agreed to (i) cooperate in the remediation of certain chemicals from the Hookston Site to meet the standards required by the lead agency overseeing the remediation, and (ii) share the cost of remediation. The civil action is no longer pending.
The lead agency overseeing the remediation is the Regional Water Quality Control Board (Water Board). Prior to the adoption of the current Order, the Hookston Site was subject to Order No. R2-2007-0009, Adoption of Final Site Cleanup Requirements and Recission of Order Nos. R2-2003-0035 and R2-2004-0081, dated January 30, 2007. In October 2022, the Hookston Parties, working closely with ERM, proposed an alternative cleanup plan for the Hookston Site to the Water Board. The alternative cleanup plan was approved by the Water Board through the adoption of Order No. R2-2023-0015 on September 29, 2023 (Order). The Order requires the Hookston Parties to carry out the alternative cleanup plan. The Hookston Parties are carrying out the Order through the CSA.
The CSA is structured to enable the Hookston Parties to incorporate different phases of the work into the CSA with the addition of “work authorizations.” Each work authorization specifies the work that ERM is to perform as well as the expected timing and cost of the work. The work authorizations enable the Hookston Parties to control the work being performed and to budget for their share of upcoming costs. The work authorizations are part of the CSA and are all tied to either (i) the work that led up to the alternative cleanup plan that was presented to the Water Board, or (ii) carrying out the Order. No other projects are carried out under the CSA.
A staff report dated December 14, 2021, which authorized the Director of Conservation and Development to enter into the CSA on behalf of the County, erroneously stated that the CSA had a payment limit of $210,233 and a term ending January 31, 2023. This payment limit and term reflected work initially being performed under the CSA. The CSA itself, however, does not have a payment limit and states that it will remain in effect until the date the environmental and remediation work to be performed by ERM at the Hookston Site is complete, unless the CSA is terminated sooner.
Since work authorizations are administrative actions, staff recommends that the Director of Conservation and Development, or designee, be authorized to execute future work authorizations that are consistent with the Order.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If work authorizations are not approved, the Hookston Parties, including the County, could be deemed by the Water Board to be out of compliance with the Order. If authority to execute future work authorizations is not delegated to the Director of Conservation and Development, staff will seek the authority for future work authorizations from the Board of Supervisors.